


'Tis the Season for Family Dysfunction

by themadgirlinthebluebox



Series: Have Yourself A Kiam Little Christmas [10]
Category: The Royals (TV 2015)
Genre: Christmas Dinner, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, It's not Christmas unless Liam and Robert insult each other, Minor Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2018-12-23
Packaged: 2019-09-26 03:12:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17133953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themadgirlinthebluebox/pseuds/themadgirlinthebluebox
Summary: Liam and Kathryn join the Henstridges at the tree lighting ceremony, drama ensues.Or the one where it's the day of the tree lighting and let's just say no one's happy about being there.





	'Tis the Season for Family Dysfunction

**Author's Note:**

> this is lowkey a mess because I can't plan ahead.

Day Ten: 'Tis the Season for Family Dysfunction

"It looks like things are shaping up at the palace in preparation of tonight's festivities. Tonight is the annual tree lighting ceremony which signals that the Christmas season is in full swing. The tree is in place and the balcony is shaping up nicely. This is the first Christmas since King Robert was crowned as well as his first Christmas with Queen Wilhelmina at his side. The King is expected to make a speech before the balcony appearance. But what everyone is really wondering is will Prince Liam and Kathryn Davis take part in the celebrations? Our sources are saying that they are attending the family dinner but will they make an appearance? Relationships within the family have seen strained since the King's wedding. This would be the first event attended by Kathryn as a member of the family. It's been a week since the announcement of Prince Liam's engagement and Kathryn's pregnancy, we'll be watching and waiting to see if the young couple celebrates the holiday with the family."

"Why are you watching that?"

Kathryn's head swiveled around and her cheeks were pink. "I wanted to see what they were saying."

"I bet you my mum's the source that says we're going to dinner. She loves to stir the pot." Liam balanced two mugs of tea as he joined her in bed. "It's early, we can still back out."

She nodded to her laptop. "The world seems to think otherwise. This isn't the first story that's talking about us. Angie sent me one this morning. It was about if we were going to upstage Willow's first Christmas as Queen. I don't want to be  _that_  person right from the start."

Liam moved the computer and shook his head. "I mean, you're not going to on purpose. She knows better than anyone that it's the media who dictates that stuff. But between you and me you'll upstage everyone anyway. But I might be biased."

"Ugh, I felt fine after last night but now I'm nervous just thinking about being in the same room as your family."

"I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better my mum called when you were in the shower. She's excited to see you."

"A little bit. But I still have to curtsy and smile at your brother."

Liam had to admit he wasn't thrilled about this either. He hadn't really seen Willow or his brother since the wedding. He hadn't even gone to the reception, he refused to leave Kathyrn's side. And when he finally did go home, the last time he saw his brother was when he landed a heavy punch to his face. He had been banished from the palace ever since. He was dreading it just as much as Kathryn, if not more. But the way she wrung her hands stopped him from saying anything.

"You don't have to smile. If anything we'll be in the back when we're on the balcony. And Mum made sure were sitting at the end of the table." He pulled her hands apart and kissed the back of one. "If you want to leave, just play with your ring. It's what my mum does when she wants Rachel to get her out of a conversation. I'll make an excuse."

"That's devious."

"You say that like it's a surprise." He sipped on his tea and shrug. "You've met them."

* * *

Five minutes into the evening, she hadn't played with her ring once. But that could have been because it was only Eleanor and Jasper in the dining room.

"I have good news and bad news." Eleanor greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "The good news is Robby is nervous about his speech. He's been so focused on it he'll probably be too distracted to be a dick."

"What's the bad news?"

Eleanor's face was pinched and she nodded over their shoulders. "That."

"I hope you like answering questions," Jasper muttered.

"There you are!"

When they both turned, Liam stepped back in surprise. Helena was coming at him with open arms and she nearly jabbed him in the eye.

"Mum, how are you?"

Helena had never been overly affectionate but when she was, it was a lot. Her hugged lingered for a while and Liam chuckled nervously. She rested her hand on his face and squeezed his cheek. "It's so good to see you."

"You too." He admitted. He had seen his mum once since the wedding, she had been the one to make sure he left the palace. "Hi."

Being with Liam was one thing, at home he was a normal person. But being here with the Queen was still overwhelming so she waved shyly. "Hello."

"Kathryn, how are you? How are you feeling? How is my future grandchild?"

"Good, thank you. We both are."

It was unexpected the way Helena placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Liam's told you but if you have any questions, I'm here. Or if you want an appointment with the family doctor. We're with you all the way."

She turned to look at Liam who was just as surprised. "I really appreciate that, thank you."

"Have you thought of a name? I sent Liam a list of traditional family names." Helena nodded to her stomach. "And if it's a girl, Helena is a great one."

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mum, no. We're going to choose a name  _we_ like. Where's the King?"

"Practicing his remarks and putting on a few finishing touches. And he's been told to be on his best behavior."

"And Cyrus?"

Much to his dismay, Cyrus hadn't been treated as harshly following the attempted coup. In fact, Liam was the only one cast out of the family. His mum had quickly won her way back into Robert's good graces because Willow relied on her for advice. Eleanor never particularly fell out of them because she was their brother's favorite. Liam had obviously been banished. But Cyrus had consciously chosen to not return to the palace. He had set up in St. James's Palace with Violet, but Liam suspected his brother wanted him close so he could keep an eye on him.

"I can't believe he let us in the same room together." He drawled walking into the room. "If anything happens I'm blaming you."

"Like you did last time?" Liam snapped at him. "You made it sound like the coup was all my idea."

Cyrus poured himself a glass of scotch and shrugged. "If I recall,  _you_  came begging for my help. That makes it your idea."

Kathryn wondered if anyone would believe that she still had morning sickness and needed to leave. This was growing awkward with Helena's questions and Liam's uncle. But when Robert and Willow swept into the room she couldn't tell if Liam was squeezing her hand or if she was squeezing his.

"You only get one first tree lighting as King." He had been saying to Willow but his words trailed off when he saw them. "Well, let's get this over with."

He stared at them expectedly and Liam shook his head when Kathryn started to curtsy. "Don't."

"The last time I checked I was the King of England. Show some respect, Sparrow."

"Robby." Willow gave him a stern look but stepped up to greet them. "Merry Christmas, please don't curtsy."

Even though she changed her mind about exposing Robert and seemed to turn a blind eye to how awful he was, Willow herself wasn't inherently terrible. Liam let her kiss his cheek and Kathryn gave a tight smile.

"Merry Christmas."

This seemed to irritate him but he nodded to Kathryn. "Hello. Nice to see you."

If Liam hadn't been holding her hand so tight she would have been messing with her ring. They were both unsure of what to say and Liam was tense as he stood next to her.

"There's only an hour until the balcony, perhaps we should start dinner?" Helena suggested the strain in her voice was obvious. "Let's sit."

As promised, Liam and Kathryn were at the end of the table. Jasper and Eleanor were across from them and Helena and Cyrus were on either side of them. Robert and Willow held court at the front. Liam was grateful for the distance and hoped it would be enough to keep them out of Robert's gaze. He and Willow were chatting about the short speech he'd give before lighting the tree.

"Are you alright?" Liam's voice was soft when he spoke in her ear. "We can go if you want."

She set down her glass of water and sighed. "I haven't been snatched yet so I'm fine for now."

The conversation was polite to start. Helena had turned to them once dinner was served, Liam knew her well enough to know she was up to something.

"It's wonderful to see the both of you. I was thinking that for the time being and once the baby arrives you could move into Kensington. That way you're still close to the city and to the family."

He had been quick to shake his head. "As soon as the wedding happens we're moving."

Of course, she knew this. The renovations on the estate had started shortly after Halloween, the house was a comfortable 45 minutes outside of London. It was just far enough that they'd be out of Robert and the public's prying eye. Kensington was less than a ten minute drive from the palace. That was way too close to Robert for both of their liking.

"I know but I don't like not seeing you. You never get too excited but it hasn't felt like Christmas without you here." Helena insisted as she rubbed his arm. "I'm sure you'd be more comfortable being back here."

"We're happy we're at. The wedding is soon and then we'll move." His tone was short and he backpedaled a bit. "Kathryn's been working on getting me into the Christmas spirit."

For the first time that evening she actually smiled. "We've picked out a tree, took the Christmas photo, watched movies, I think he might be coming around."

"It's a Christmas miracle." Eleanor chimed in. "We saw it last night, didn't we Jasper?"

"We did."

"I've always been curious how the  _common_  person spends their holiday." Robert wiped his mouth at the head of the table. "Tell me, brother, how has it been not being here for the holiday?"

The word common made Kathryn bristle. Nearly two years later, the words 'common blood' still made her stomach turn over when she thought about the last time she had been with Robert. Liam clearly remembered this too because he rolled his eyes.

"Interestingly, it's the best Christmas I've ever had. I think it's growing on me." He gestured to the footman. "Could I get more wine?"

"I'm surprised you still have the taste for fine things. I thought your manners would be gone by now, you've been away from all of this."

Liam took a long sip and cast him a dirty look. "Well, I thought being King would make you less of a jerk but here we are."

From down the table, Cyrus snickered and Jasper discreetly gave him a thumbs up. The dinner had taken a turn and Willow nervously cleared her throat.

"Uh, Kathryn. Your ring is lovely, are you excited for the wedding?"

"Yes, you've been particularly quiet tonight. How is it living with my brother?"

The look Robert gave her was enough to make her skin crawl. Somehow he could manage to look at her like she was nothing and objectify her all at once. She was also surprised that Willow was talking to her. The last time they had spoken was at the legacy gala and she had been less than polite about her past with Robert. Under the table, Liam protectively placed a hand on her leg.

"We're happy, let's leave it at that."

"Happy enough to convince my brother to frolic around Christmas markets." He pointed his fork at him. "Careful, Liam. Before you know it she'll have you on a short leash and the child won't know any more about being a royal than she does. Isn't that right Kates?

"Don't call me that."

The older Henstridge smirked. "Apologies. You two are certainly going to have your hands full with the baby. Between Liam's tendency to go on witch hunts and that tone of yours, they're going to be a lot."

"Robby." Willow chided and put her hand on his shoulder. "We should be happy for them. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I'm happy for you."

This seemed to calm him for a moment. "Of course, you're right. If you need anything let us know. I could even get a car to escort you to the hospital when the time comes."

Anger spiked in Liam's gut at the mention of a car. "That's enough."

"What?" He asked with mock sincerity. "I can't arrange a car for the birth of my brother's first child?"

"Robert, enough," Helena warned. "This is meant to be a nice dinner."

Helena's comments went unheard and even if they had been it didn't matter. Liam's face was already growing hot and his fist was clenched.

"No, you can't. As a matter of fact, you will have nothing to do with any of this. The last time you came near them you had Lucius try and do your dirty work." His voice was raised and it made everyone jump. "I'm only here because it's Christmas. Don't think this means I want to be involved with this family more than I am."

"You seem to forget I'm the one who banished you. And yes, it's Christmas. I thought you were smart enough to recognize that this was a time to put aside any differences."

Eleanor gave him a confused look. "You did try to kidnap her."

"Nonsense. Lucius was simply making sure she conducted herself in a proper manner." Robert sipped his wine and then his voice was low. "Not that she has before."

Kathryn swallowed a lump in her throat and glanced at Liam, he had his jaw clenched so tight that it was shaking. On the other side of her, Helena rubbed a hand over her face.

"I'm sorry for this." She said quietly. "Truly."

Robert haughtily wiped his mouth and straightened his tie. "Now that Liam's ruined yet another Christmas, let's see if I can salvage it with this tree lighting."

"Tis the season for family dysfunction." Cyrus mused as everyone stood from the table.

Once he and Willow were out of sight Liam turned to her. "Are you alright? I knew this was a mistake, I'm sorry."

"I'm fine, really. I just forgot how rude he can be."

"He's reprehensible." He was fuming now. "Don't worry, we're going."

Kathryn looked around the dining room. A large tree glowed in the corner of the room and the table was decorated with holly and a red and gold centerpiece. Across the table, Eleanor watched on with concern and Jasper gave her a supportive nod.

"Let's stay."

This was the last thing both Liam and Helena expected to hear because they both raised their eyebrows.

"No, he was just a dick to both of us."

"Yes, you don't have to stay. I'm sorry he acted this way." Helena assured her. "We can say you were ill or didn't want to risk going out into the cold."

She fiddled with the ring on her finger and thought of what the press had been saying. "It's my first Christmas with your family." She began slowly. "And I think that's important. Maybe I just like the holiday too much or I'm being sentimental but maybe we should stay. Think about it, next year we can have Christmas at our own house, away from the city and it'll be like this never happened."

Liam didn't look convinced and neither did Helena. "Are you sure, love? You know he's going to be like this the rest of the night."

"I know but he shouldn't get to ruin this for us. Other than the thought of your brother this seemed like it would be a nice time." She nodded the rest of the family who had started to leave the dining room. "And I like your family, I don't want to always be the odd ones out. He's the one with issues."

He was still apprehensive but she seemed determined. "How do you manage to always look on the bright side of things?"

"It's not hard to take the moral high ground when he's involved. And you said it yourself last night, next year's going to be better." She took his hand and kissed his cheek. "Sure, I'm nervous about the balcony but it's my first event with your family. I'm not going to miss it because of him."

The two of them started making their way towards the library where the tree was displayed. "You're incredible you know that? If it were up to me I would have thrown Robert through the wall by now."

"I know but once this is out of the way we won't have to do it again." The corners of her mouth twitched as she held back a laugh. "And did you really think I'd miss the chance to see a proper Christmas tree?"

For the first time all evening Liam looked amused. "I should have known."

* * *

All in all the tree lighting was underwhelming. None of them were onscreen other than Robert, who's 'big speech' was nothing more than him wishing the nation a happy holiday. The tree, of course, was magnificent and twice as tall as the one Kathryn had originally wanted. It glittered with tinsel and ornaments from over a hundred years ago.

"Our tree is much nicer," Liam whispered into her ear just as Robert finished speaking.

"And that's coming from you." She shot back.

They both chuckled to themselves, briefly forgetting the drama of the evening. It seemed like everyone else may have too as they made their way to the balcony. Jasper was helping Eleanor into her coat and they were also laughing. Helena and Cyrus were bantering back and forth about who was the bigger Scrooge and Willow was sneaking a sweet out of her jacket pocket.

But Robert only noticed them when he rounded the corner. His eyes narrowed and the smiles fell from both of their faces.

"I hope you and Sparrow had a good time tonight."

"We were until you showed up." Liam squared his shoulders and he held his chin up. "I think everyone was."

"Well, take it in because you're not invited to Christmas. I won't be treated like I was tonight in my own home, in front of my wife. I guess you really will be having a common Christmas."

The cheerful mood had vanished as they shared a glance. Liam already looked annoyed and Kathryn bit her lip. Robert looked pleased with himself, clearly waiting for them to ask him to change his mind.

"You've uninvited us from Christmas?" Liam questioned, scoffing as he did so. "Really?"

"It had to be done. The way you acted tonight was disgraceful, why must you ruin every holiday this family has?"

Kathryn watched Liam's face, waiting for him to say something. He didn't seem angry, all he did was give an unbothered shrug.

"Fine by me. But you should know that next year when Mum and Len and Jasper come to celebrate with us,  _you're_ not invited."

The King guffawed at this. "That's your big move? Uninviting me from your sad, little, celebration next year?"

"I won't be treated like I was tonight in my own home, in front of my wife or our child." He said it with the same primness Robert just had. "But you have a year to change my mind, maybe Lucius can join you in the car ride up to make sure you conduct yourself properly." The smile on his face made his words that much harsher. "Now, don't you have a balcony to lead us to? I know you like the attention."

Robert's eyes flickered from Liam to Kathryn as a scowl grew on his face. He sneered at them but didn't say anything as he took Willow's arm, he drew in a large breath before stepping out onto the balcony.

"Nothing says Christmas like an old fashion burn," Cyrus said wistfully as he passed them. "Cheers to you, Sparrow."

"Yeah and nothing says Chrismas like my brothers arguing." His sister rolled her eyes but sounded impressed, "We'll bring the eggnog and the wine to yours next Christmas."

Outside, the crowd that had gathered cheered for the family. Liam and Kathryn lingered in the doorway for just a moment and he buttoned his coat. When he looked up Kathryn was staring at him fondly.

"What?"

"Nothing." She took his arm. "It's just, I thought this would be a trainwreck. It was rough, but it ended up better than I thought it would."

"Well, you were right. It's our first Christmas, our first appearance as a couple. That's what's important, not Robby or the way he acted, it should be you. This time next year when it's just the three of us none of this will matter." He leaned in and kissed her. "Now let's go show the world that my brother hasn't ruined the night."

They stepped out into the cold air and onto the balcony. Kathryn squeezed his spare hand as she gave a small wave. When the cheers grew louder at the gesture she turned to him and smiled excitedly.

Liam couldn't help but do the same.

**Author's Note:**

> It wouldn't be Christmas without a happy ending. Tomorrow's a lot lighter!


End file.
